U.S District Judge, Tanya Chutkan has set March 4, 2024 as date for Donald Trump’s criminal trial on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump pleaded not guilty earlier this month to charges filed in federal district court in Washington by Special Counsel Jack Smith, accusing him on four conspiracy and obstruction counts.
The charges entail one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S, one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.
The trial date, set on Monday, August 28, 2023 by Judge Chutkan, the Federal Judge presiding over the case, means that Trump’s first trial defending himself against prosecutors and the Special Counsel Jack Smith, will be the election overturn case.
The 2020 election overturn case is one of four criminal cases against Trump. Smith’s team has brought a separate federal case accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida, property, Mar-a-Lago, and refusing to give them back. That case is currently set for trial on May 20, 2024.
Trump also faces state cases in New York and Georgia. Manhattan prosecutors have charged him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to a porn actor who has said she had an extramarital affair with Trump, while prosecutors in Fulton County, have charged Trump and 18 others for attempts to subvert Georgia’ s 2020 election.
Citing the supposed “median time” of 29.2 months that it took to convict defendants in cases that involved the charge of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, Trump had requested ahead of the hearing for the trial to take place in April 2026.
However, District Judge, Tanya Chutkan rejected his request. “The defence’s proposed date of April 2026 is far beyond what is necessary,” she said.
“The events giving rise to this case occurred at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. To propose trying this case over five years later risks the real danger that witnesses become unavailable or their memories may fade.
“My primary concern here, as it is, in every case, is the interest of justice and that I’ve balanced the defendant’s right to adequately prepare.”
U.S District Judge, Tanya Chutkan
“The public has a right to a prompt and efficient resolution of this matter,” Chutkan said.
Trial During Height Of 2024 Republican Primary Season
Trump’s trial will come during the height of the 2024 Republican primary season as the scheduled date falls on a day before Super Tuesday of the Republican primaries.
This means Trump will be in the federal courthouse in Washington starting the day before the crucial primaries.
However, Chutkan reiterated that Trump, like any other criminal defendant, would have to “make the trial date work regardless of his schedule.”
The Judge also explained that the Speedy Trial Act, which requires criminal cases to go to trial within 70 days of indictment, exists to protect not just Trump but the public interest in ensuring the timely administration of justice.
Meanwhile, Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Monday morning before the federal trial date was set to accuse his Democratic rival, President Joe Biden, and other officials of seeking to derail his re-election bid.
“It will only get worse because these deranged lunatics know no bounds. Someday, however, Sanity will again prevail,” Trump noted.
Also on Monday, the Fulton County docket showed that Trump’s arraignment on election interference charges in the state of Georgia will take place next week, September 6, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.
